As semiconductor manufacturing processes become more complex, the search for improvements becomes harder to manage. Not only are different materials capable of being looked into, but processes and process sequences may also need to be modified along with the materials. In order to manage the evaluation of these variables, an inordinate amount of tests must be performed and data evaluated. The current techniques for gradient variation to evaluate materials are not optimized for efficiently performing the vast amount of tests needed. One limitation of the gradient variation technique is the inability to accommodate variation across multiple steps so that process sequences may be evaluated in combination with material evaluation. For example, the current gradient variation techniques lack the capability of evaluating different processes and process sequences contemporaneously with different materials on a single substrate.
Thus, improved techniques and related systems for testing processes, process sequences, and materials on a single substrate are needed.